David Lynch, the Oscar-nominated director of films including Eraserhead, Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive, and co-creator of the cult drama series Twin Peaks, has died. He was 78.
“It is with deep regret that we, his family, announce the passing of the man and the artist, David Lynch,” a statement on his official Facebook account said. “We would appreciate some privacy at this time. There’s a big hole in the world now that he’s no longer with us. But, as he would say, ‘Keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole.'”
The statement added, “It’s a beautiful day with golden sunshine and blue skies all the way.”
The filmmaker revealed in August 2024 that he had developed emphysema after years of smoking. “I’m homebound whether I like it or not,” Lynch told Sight and Sound magazine. “I can’t go out. And I can only walk a short distance before I’m out of oxygen.”
Lynch added in a social media post at the time that he was “in excellent shape” otherwise, declaring, “I am filled with happiness, and I will never retire.”
An acclaimed film director and screenwriter, visual artist, musician and composer known for his surreal, sometimes macabre, works, Lynch was nominated for four Academy Awards over his more than six-decade career, though he only directed 10 feature films between his 1977 debut, Eraserhead, and his most recent film, 2006’s Inland Empire. So singular was his artistic vision, however, that in 2019 Lynch received an honorary Academy Award in recognition of his body of work and contribution to cinema.
He also received eight Primetime Emmy Award nominations for his 1990s TV series Twin Peaks, which introduced the broader public to his eclectic style that often juxtaposed fantastical or dreamlike elements with mundane environments – a signature aesthetic that came to be described as “Lynchian.”
Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
